In 2011, he attempted to run for a seat as a Democrat in the New Jersey Senate, but was removed from the ballot due to the state's residency requirement.

[4] The Olympic boycott precluded Lewis from competing in Moscow, Russia; he instead participated in the Liberty Bell Classic in July 1980, which was an alternate meet for boycotting nations.

[18] In 1982, Lewis continued his dominance, and for the first time it seemed someone might challenge Bob Beamon's world record of 8.90 m (29 ft 2+1⁄4 in) in the long jump set at the 1968 Olympics, a mark often described as one of the greatest athletic achievements ever.

[10] The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the governing body of track and field, organized the first World Championships in 1983.

At the TAC Championships on June 19, he set a new low-altitude record in the long jump, 8.79 m (28 ft 10 in)[25] and earned the world number one ranking in that event.

Lewis easily won gold, and Gary Honey of Australia settled for the silver medal with a jump of 8.24 m (27 ft 1⁄4 in).

The public was generally unaware of the intricacies of the sport and had been repeatedly told by the media of Lewis's quest to surpass Bob Beamon's legendary long jump record of 8.90 m (29 ft 2+1⁄4 in).

[33] Although Lewis had achieved what he had set out to do, matching Jesse Owens' feat of winning four gold medals in the same events at a single Olympic Games, he did not receive the lucrative endorsement offers that he had expected.

Douglas said he was inaccurately quoted, but the impression that Lewis was aloof and egotistical was firmly planted in the public's perception by the end of the 1984 Olympic Games.

Lewis himself would lay the blame on some inaccurate reporting, especially the "Carl bashing", as he put it, typified by a Sports Illustrated article before the Olympics.

Lewis ended up ranked second behind Soviet Robert Emmiyan, who had the longest legal jump of the year at 8.61 m (28 ft 2+3⁄4 in).

[10] At the 1987 World Championships in Athletics in Rome, Lewis skipped the 200 m to focus on his strongest event, the long jump, and made sure to take all his attempts.

In the 100 m final, Lewis faced the two men who ranked number one in the world the past two years: Burrell and Jamaican Raymond Stewart.

[68] Lewis was up against his main rival of the last few years, Mike Powell, the silver medalist in the event from the 1988 Olympics and the top-ranked long jumper of 1990.

"[78] Lewis's 1991 outstanding results earned him the ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, an award he shared with gymnastics star Kim Zmeskal.

Though he anchored a world record 1:19.11 in the rarely run 4 × 200 m relay with the Santa Monica Track Club early in 1992,[79] he failed to qualify for the Olympic team in the 100 m or 200 m. In the latter race, he finished fourth at the Olympic trials behind rising star Michael Johnson who set a personal best of 19.79 s.[80] It was the first time the two had ever met on the track.

[85] At the 1996 Olympics, injuries to world-record holder Mike Powell and the leading long-jumper in the world, Iván Pedroso, affected their performances.

Though he did not match past performances, his third-round leap of 8.50 m (27 ft 10+1⁄2 in) won gold by 0.21 m (8+1⁄4 in) over second-place finisher James Beckford of Jamaica.

[88] Lewis' 8.50 m (27 ft 10+1⁄2 in) jump was also officially declared tied with Larry Myricks for the masters record for the 35–39 age group.

[89] Controversy struck when, as Track and Field News put it, "Lewis' attitude in the whole relay hoo-hah a few days later served only to take the luster off his final gold.

Before showing the documents to Sports Illustrated, Exum tried to use them in a lawsuit against USOC, accusing the organization of racial discrimination and wrongful termination against him and cover-up over the failed tests.

The USOC claimed his case "baseless" as he himself was the one in charge of screening the anti-doping test program of the organization and clarifying that the athletes were cleared according to the rules.

[91][92] Lewis was among the named athletes and Exum's documents revealed that at the 1988 Olympics trials he had three positive results on a combined test for pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine.

All were and are banned in sport due to their activity as stimulants, though at the time all three were available over-the-counter as dietary supplements or treatments for cold and allergy symptoms.

[91] Fellow Santa Monica Track Club teammates Joe DeLoach and Floyd Heard were also found to have the same banned stimulants in their systems, and were cleared to compete for the same reason.

[91][95] According to the IOC rules at the time, positive tests with levels lower than 10 ppm were cause of further investigation but not immediate ban.

In 2011, Lewis appeared in the short documentary Challenging Impossibility which features the feats of strength demonstrated by the late spiritual teacher and peace advocate Sri Chinmoy.

[107] On April 11, 2011, Lewis filed petitions to run as a Democrat for the New Jersey Senate in the state's 8th legislative district in Burlington County.

[114] He has said that it is better suited to him because he can eat a larger quantity without affecting his athleticism, and he believes that switching to a vegan diet can lead to improved athletic performance.

[115] At a 2019 Pan American Games news conference, and in the aftermath of the deadly El Paso and Dayton shootings, Lewis called then‑U.S.